Financial Assistance, Inc. v. Ajib CA5

Filed 3/30/15 Financial Assistance, Inc. v. Ajib CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, INC., F068715 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 10CECG03997) v.

WAJIH AJIB, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. M. Bruce Smith, Judge. Wajih Ajib, in propria persona, for Defendant and Appellant. Raymond A. Patenaude, Stephanie Boone and Jeffrey W. Speights for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo- Defendant Wajih Ajib (Ajib) appeals in propria persona from a judgment of $49,927.40, entered in favor of Plaintiff Financial Assistance, Inc. (Financial Assistance) following a half-day court trial on Financial Assistance’s claims for breach of contract, breach of guaranty and account stated. Ajib contends the trial court erred in ruling in Financial Assistance’s favor because there is no enforceable contract as (1) essential

terms are missing, (2) the contract is illegible, (3) the trial court erroneously relied on a blank specimen to supply the terms contained in the illegible contract, and (4) he did not sign the personal guarantee. He also contends he should have been allowed to raise violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.) as an affirmative defense. In preparing the record on appeal, Ajib elected to proceed without a reporter’s transcript and designated only a partial clerk’s transcript. As Ajib’s showing on appeal is insufficient, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND We take our recitation from the trial court’s written decision. In June 2010, Ajib filed a small claims action alleging a violation of the FDCPA, in which he claimed to be due $1,000 for Financial Assistance’s actions in trying to collect the debt alleged against him in this action. On November 15, 2010, Financial Assistance filed its complaint against Nshan Enterprise, Inc. and Ajib, alleging causes of action for breach of the written agreement, breach of guaranty and account stated. In March 2011, Financial Assistance filed a first amended complaint that contained the same or similar allegations and Ajib filed his answer. On September 10, 2013, Ajib dismissed his small claims action without prejudice. Trial commenced on Financial Assistance’s action on September 23, 2013. According to the trial court, the evidence produced at trial showed the following: Around March 28, 2007, a Business Direct Application either was prepared online, or retrieved online and delivered to a representative of Wells Fargo Bank (Wells Fargo). The application was made in the name of Nshan Enterprise, Inc., with a business location of 1385 Shaw Ave. #104 in Carlsbad and owner, Wajih Ajib, who resided at 760 W. Sierra in Clovis, California. At trial, Ajib could neither confirm nor deny that he was the individual who prepared and delivered the application to Wells Fargo, but he admitted he had been